Confucian Feminism: A Practical Ethic for Life

by Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee, Monika Kirloskar-Steinbach (Editor), Leah Kalmanson (Editor), Nader El-Bizri (Editor), James Madaio (Editor)

Overview

In Confucian Feminism Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee expands the theoretical horizons of feminism by using characteristic Confucian terms, methods, and concerns to interrogate the issue of gender oppression and liberation.

With its theoretical roots in the Confucian textual tradition, this is the first re-imagining of Confucianism that enriches, and is enriched by, feminism.

Incorporating distinctive Confucian conceptual tools such as ren (benevolent governance), xiao (filial care), you (friendship), li (ritual), and datong (great community), Rosenlee creates an ethic of care that is feminist and Confucian. At the same time she confronts the issue of gender inequity in Confucian thought. Her hybrid feminist theory not only broadens the range of feminist understandings of the roots of gender oppression, but opens up what we believe constitutes gender liberation for women transnationally and transculturally.

Here is a practical ethic that uses Confucianism to navigate the contours of inequality in everyday life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350426177
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/19/2024
Series:	Bloomsbury Introductions to World Philosophies
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.45(w) x 8.45(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Monika Kirloskar-Steinbach is Professor of Philosophy at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands and the current Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of World Philosophies.

Leah Kalmanson is Associate Professor and Bhagwan Adinath Professor of Jain Studies in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Texas, USA.

Nader El-Bizri is Professor of Civilization Studies & Philosophy at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.

James Madaio is Research Fellow in the Oriental Institute at the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czechia, Lecturer in the Asian Studies Department at Charles University, Czech Republic, and Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, UK. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Hindu Studies and Regional Editor (Indic Traditions) for the Bloomsbury Introductions to World Philosophies.

Takeshi Morisato is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of Japanese Studies, KU Leuven, Belgium, and the editor of the European Journal of Japanese Philosophy (EJJP).

Pascah Mungwini is Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology at the University of South Africa, South Africa.

Ann A. Pang-White is Professor of Philosophy and Director of Asian Studies at The University of Scranton, USA. She is the editor of the Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Chinese Philosophy and Gender (2016), editor and translator of The Confucian Four Books for Women (2018), and the author of many articles on Chinese and comparative philosophy as well as ancient and medieval philosophy.

Mickaella Perina is Associate Professor of Philosophy at University of Massachusetts Boston, USA.

Omar Rivera is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Texas A&M University, USA.

Georgina Stewart is Associate Professor at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
1. Introduction: A Revisionist History of Philosophy
2. Confucian Gender Trouble
3. When Kittay's Love's Labor meets Confucian Xiao
4. Marriage and Perfect Friendship
5. Hybridity of Philia and You as Spousal Relation
6. Democracy and Its Limits
7. Ritual, Common Good, and Social Cohesion
9. Closing Remarks
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee directly challenges philosophers fixated on 'the Western Canon' who have ignored and undervalued the contributions that can be made to the discipline by 'wisdom traditions' assumed to be mired in the past. Confucian philosophy is presented in a way that reveals its contemporary relevance to a range of philosophical issues, from feminism and ethics to politics and social welfare. Of special note is the ardent argument offered for Confucian care ethics to relieve the burdens placed on women as care givers while revitalizing our eroding commitment to social cohesion amid rampant individualism.” —Sandra A. Wawrytko, Professor of Philosophy, San Diego State University, USA

“A stimulating, intriguing and the one of its own kind academic and personal testimony: how to be and what means to be a Confucian Feminist. A progressive, inventive and hybridized vision is sharply and acutely originated and revealed.” —Robin R. Wang, Professor of Philosophy, Loyola Marymount University, USA

“If the objective of theorizing our practices is to make them more intelligent and productive, then Lisa Rosenlee's Confucian Feminism: A Practical Ethic for Life accomplishes as much for Confucian philosophy. And if symbiosis as an optimizing of our lived experience is an underlying premise in Confucian philosophy, then Rosenlee's argument that Confucianism must be progressive and evolutionary is compelling.” —Roger T. Ames, Humanities Chair Professor, Peking University, China

“In a daring move, Lisa Rosenlee constructs a Confucian feminism to address contemporary challenges. This book advances the discourse of Confucianism and feminism to new heights, marking an important development for both Confucianism and feminism.” —Chenyang Li, Professor of Philosophy, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

“Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee's brilliant work is at once deeply Confucian, deeply feminist, and yet not bound by the prior contours of either tradition. Her wide-ranging and artful theorizing, directed toward envisioning a liberatory future for us all, is truly an example of the best of contemporary comparative philosophy.” —Sarah A. Mattice, Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, University of North Florida

From the Publisher